tensions are once again running high
along the touchid up river in 2015 as
South American politics are pushed to
the breaking point
welcome to watchmojo.com
this installment we’re counting down ten
crucial facts you should know about the
Venezuela Colombia border crisis number
ten what is the border crisis on Friday
August 21st 2015
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro sent
the country into a 60-day state of
emergency in an apparent attempt to
address the South American nations
growing social and economic problems as
Maduro searches for what many critics
are calling a scapegoat his attentions
have landed upon neighboring nation
Colombia and specifically the Colombian
population living in Venezuela
Venezuelan troops have been deployed to
round up and deport Colombian nationals
from the country which in turn has
triggered many potential targets to
scramble across the border voluntarily
before they’re forced to do so number
nine which countries are involved in the
border crisis events are unraveling
along the touchid a river which forms
part of the border between Venezuela and
Colombia the water is a little over
knee-high at some points and traversable
while the village of san antonio has
become a major crossing point for
Colombians seeking refuge in their
homeland Maduro has insisted that
driving out immigrants is a national
necessity for Venezuela as it’s an
attempt to stabilize the economy
crackdown on illegal smuggling and stop
instances of violence instigated by what
the Venezuelan government calls quote
Colombia’s paramilitary forces however
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos
has criticised his counterpart claiming
that Maduro has attacked quote poor and
humble families who want to live and
work number 8 who does the border crisis
affect Maduro state of emergency has
quickly upended the lives of around
6,000 Colombians with 1000 officially
deported and hundreds more leaving
through fear
distressingly dictatorial move the
Venezuelan state has had some Colombian
homes emblazoned with addy for
demolition as authorities have been
granted rights to search homes without a
warrant in all there are 5 million
Colombians living in Venezuela making up
around 15% of the country’s population
all of whom are potential targets within
the current climate number 7
how has the border crisis escalated the
situation further developed as both
nations recalled their relevant
ambassadors and relations between the
two worsened by the end of August 2015
Colombia and President Santos were the
first to act withdrawing their envoy
amid a situation that they described as
quote unacceptable Santos was quoted as
saying that he could not allow Venezuela
to treat Colombians and a Colombian
government in this way shortly after the
Colombian withdrawal Venezuela followed
suit and recalled its representative
quote for consultations a political
standoff ensued with Colombia in
particular promising to call for an
extraordinary meeting of foreign
ministers from the Union of South
American Nations tensions between the
two countries seemed likely to become a
pressing matter for the entire South
American continent and indeed within
general international affairs number six
who is the leader of Venezuela Nicolas
Maduro was elected president of
Venezuela in April 2013 and had
previously served as the country’s vice
president from 2006 to 2013 he also
served under former leader Hugo Chavez
as Minister of Foreign Affairs a member
of the United Socialist Party Maduro is
a former bus driver who began his
political career as a trade unionist
rising through the ranks to eventually
become one of the most well respected
politicians within Chavez inner circle
he gained his presidential position with
a 1.5 percent margin and has since
presided over an especially difficult
and controversial time in the nation’s
history number 5 what is the current
state of the Venezuelan economy
Venezuela’s economy is by no means a
healthy one as inflation threatens to
spiral out of control
for many the president’s latest move
against Venezuela’s Colombian population
is at least partly wrapped up in his
attempts to find a reason or at least a
blame for his country’s growing problems
essentially there’s too much literal
money being printed and not enough goods
on which to spend it
meaning that prices have hugely
accelerated official figures out of
Venezuela published in February of 2015
suggests that the situation may be
manageable but other estimates disagree
with some calculating that the nation’s
cost of living has increased over 700
percent a nightmare situation for the
Venezuelan people it suggested that the
Colombian immigrants are being forcibly
deported as part of a quote economic war
in an attempt to forcibly balance the
books number for what were the 2014-2015
Venezuelan protests in response to
Venezuela’s dangerously unbalanced
economy and also in relation to the
country’s rising rate of violent crime
2014 and especially its early months was
dominated by public protests
demonstrations began in January after
the murder of former Miss Venezuela
Monica spear and intensified in February
following the attempted rape of a
university student in San Cristobal
tatsuta the police’s subsequent arrest
and brutalization of five student
protesters spawned even more civilian
antagonism and further roused between
government forces and their opponents by
the end of the year and into 2015
low oil prices and economic struggles in
general were at the heart of the matter
though the majority of protests were
peaceful criticism fell on both sides of
the divide as the rallies regularly
played host to violent crimes themselves
and severe vandalism Maduro s government
and pro-government paramilitary groups
were also accused of torturing captured
protesters and of using live ammunition
toward crowds away instead of rubber
pellets or tear gas number three how are
venezuelan colombian relations during
the early 1800s the two nations were
actually won as their territories fell
within enterprising revolutionist simone
bolivars gronkle
since then the border between the two
countries as well as each nations
respective waters have almost always
been under scrutiny in relatively recent
times the caldas frigate incident
highlighted territorial problems as
there was a standoff in 1987 between the
Colombian military who were considered
trespassers and the Venezuelan Air Force
in the 21st century the relationship
between the two countries has remained
strained particularly during the
coinciding presidencies of Venezuela’s
Hugo Chavez and Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe
between 2002 and 2010 in particular
allegations were made from either side
triggered by a wide range of subjects
from the keeping of prisoners to the
development of weapons to the conspiring
of one government against the other
number two what has been the status of
Colombian immigrants surveys show that
the majority of Venezuelans believe the
deportation of Colombians is merely a
smokescreen for the country’s deeper
problems in general for the everyday
person the status of Colombian
immigrants has not shifted too severely
in recent history Venezuela has carved a
reputation for being especially
welcoming and receptive to foreigners in
fact in 2004 former President Hugo
Chavez provided Colombians in Venezuela
the right to vote and residency
unfortunately following the events in
2015 things seem likely to change number
one how will this end as of early
September 2015 the situation seemed to
be reaching a climactic point but Dodos
decision to deport was a statement of
intent and a clear act of provocation
while ridding Venezuela of its Colombian
population is unlikely to end an
economic crisis which is important given
that the nation is approaching its
parliamentary election in December 2015
however the damage done to its
relationship with Colombia might prove
more costly and counterproductive in the
long term after decades of highs and
lows
the Venezuela Colombia relationship
looks to be in critical condition
with the Colombian president already
calling for crisis talks with South
American leaders the eyes of the world
are turned to the two countries as a
resolution is sought did these facts get
you thinking to vote for which news
story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
along the touchid up river in 2015 as
South American politics are pushed to
the breaking point
welcome to watchmojo.com
this installment we’re counting down ten
crucial facts you should know about the
Venezuela Colombia border crisis number
ten what is the border crisis on Friday
August 21st 2015
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro sent
the country into a 60-day state of
emergency in an apparent attempt to
address the South American nations
growing social and economic problems as
Maduro searches for what many critics
are calling a scapegoat his attentions
have landed upon neighboring nation
Colombia and specifically the Colombian
population living in Venezuela
Venezuelan troops have been deployed to
round up and deport Colombian nationals
from the country which in turn has
triggered many potential targets to
scramble across the border voluntarily
before they’re forced to do so number
nine which countries are involved in the
border crisis events are unraveling
along the touchid a river which forms
part of the border between Venezuela and
Colombia the water is a little over
knee-high at some points and traversable
while the village of san antonio has
become a major crossing point for
Colombians seeking refuge in their
homeland Maduro has insisted that
driving out immigrants is a national
necessity for Venezuela as it’s an
attempt to stabilize the economy
crackdown on illegal smuggling and stop
instances of violence instigated by what
the Venezuelan government calls quote
Colombia’s paramilitary forces however
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos
has criticised his counterpart claiming
that Maduro has attacked quote poor and
humble families who want to live and
work number 8 who does the border crisis
affect Maduro state of emergency has
quickly upended the lives of around
6,000 Colombians with 1000 officially
deported and hundreds more leaving
through fear
distressingly dictatorial move the
Venezuelan state has had some Colombian
homes emblazoned with addy for
demolition as authorities have been
granted rights to search homes without a
warrant in all there are 5 million
Colombians living in Venezuela making up
around 15% of the country’s population
all of whom are potential targets within
the current climate number 7
how has the border crisis escalated the
situation further developed as both
nations recalled their relevant
ambassadors and relations between the
two worsened by the end of August 2015
Colombia and President Santos were the
first to act withdrawing their envoy
amid a situation that they described as
quote unacceptable Santos was quoted as
saying that he could not allow Venezuela
to treat Colombians and a Colombian
government in this way shortly after the
Colombian withdrawal Venezuela followed
suit and recalled its representative
quote for consultations a political
standoff ensued with Colombia in
particular promising to call for an
extraordinary meeting of foreign
ministers from the Union of South
American Nations tensions between the
two countries seemed likely to become a
pressing matter for the entire South
American continent and indeed within
general international affairs number six
who is the leader of Venezuela Nicolas
Maduro was elected president of
Venezuela in April 2013 and had
previously served as the country’s vice
president from 2006 to 2013 he also
served under former leader Hugo Chavez
as Minister of Foreign Affairs a member
of the United Socialist Party Maduro is
a former bus driver who began his
political career as a trade unionist
rising through the ranks to eventually
become one of the most well respected
politicians within Chavez inner circle
he gained his presidential position with
a 1.5 percent margin and has since
presided over an especially difficult
and controversial time in the nation’s
history number 5 what is the current
state of the Venezuelan economy
Venezuela’s economy is by no means a
healthy one as inflation threatens to
spiral out of control
for many the president’s latest move
against Venezuela’s Colombian population
is at least partly wrapped up in his
attempts to find a reason or at least a
blame for his country’s growing problems
essentially there’s too much literal
money being printed and not enough goods
on which to spend it
meaning that prices have hugely
accelerated official figures out of
Venezuela published in February of 2015
suggests that the situation may be
manageable but other estimates disagree
with some calculating that the nation’s
cost of living has increased over 700
percent a nightmare situation for the
Venezuelan people it suggested that the
Colombian immigrants are being forcibly
deported as part of a quote economic war
in an attempt to forcibly balance the
books number for what were the 2014-2015
Venezuelan protests in response to
Venezuela’s dangerously unbalanced
economy and also in relation to the
country’s rising rate of violent crime
2014 and especially its early months was
dominated by public protests
demonstrations began in January after
the murder of former Miss Venezuela
Monica spear and intensified in February
following the attempted rape of a
university student in San Cristobal
tatsuta the police’s subsequent arrest
and brutalization of five student
protesters spawned even more civilian
antagonism and further roused between
government forces and their opponents by
the end of the year and into 2015
low oil prices and economic struggles in
general were at the heart of the matter
though the majority of protests were
peaceful criticism fell on both sides of
the divide as the rallies regularly
played host to violent crimes themselves
and severe vandalism Maduro s government
and pro-government paramilitary groups
were also accused of torturing captured
protesters and of using live ammunition
toward crowds away instead of rubber
pellets or tear gas number three how are
venezuelan colombian relations during
the early 1800s the two nations were
actually won as their territories fell
within enterprising revolutionist simone
bolivars gronkle
since then the border between the two
countries as well as each nations
respective waters have almost always
been under scrutiny in relatively recent
times the caldas frigate incident
highlighted territorial problems as
there was a standoff in 1987 between the
Colombian military who were considered
trespassers and the Venezuelan Air Force
in the 21st century the relationship
between the two countries has remained
strained particularly during the
coinciding presidencies of Venezuela’s
Hugo Chavez and Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe
between 2002 and 2010 in particular
allegations were made from either side
triggered by a wide range of subjects
from the keeping of prisoners to the
development of weapons to the conspiring
of one government against the other
number two what has been the status of
Colombian immigrants surveys show that
the majority of Venezuelans believe the
deportation of Colombians is merely a
smokescreen for the country’s deeper
problems in general for the everyday
person the status of Colombian
immigrants has not shifted too severely
in recent history Venezuela has carved a
reputation for being especially
welcoming and receptive to foreigners in
fact in 2004 former President Hugo
Chavez provided Colombians in Venezuela
the right to vote and residency
unfortunately following the events in
2015 things seem likely to change number
one how will this end as of early
September 2015 the situation seemed to
be reaching a climactic point but Dodos
decision to deport was a statement of
intent and a clear act of provocation
while ridding Venezuela of its Colombian
population is unlikely to end an
economic crisis which is important given
that the nation is approaching its
parliamentary election in December 2015
however the damage done to its
relationship with Colombia might prove
more costly and counterproductive in the
long term after decades of highs and
lows
the Venezuela Colombia relationship
looks to be in critical condition
with the Colombian president already
calling for crisis talks with South
American leaders the eyes of the world
are turned to the two countries as a
resolution is sought did these facts get
you thinking to vote for which news
story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
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